Deer season arrives, Share the Harvest adds refrigerated trailers

Just in time for the cold weather, today is the start of firearms deer season in Missouri. Conservation officials expect a big harvest this year, thank sin large part to the colder weather on opening weekend.

Meanwhile, hunters who want to donate a deer this hunting season now have the option to leave it in a refrigerated trailer at four northern Missouri locations as part of Operation Share the Harvest.

One trailer is parked at the Moberly Comfort Inn, 1801 W. Outer Road, in Moberly, while another is at the MFA in Macon, 1805 N. Missouri Street. The two others are located in Putnam and Carroll County. The four northern Missouri sites are seeing the department testing to see if it will increase donations to its harvesting program.

From there, the Missouri Department of Conservation will find a processor that can take it and prepare the meat for families facing hunger. It’s a pilot program put in place as the number of participating meat processors have dwindled, leaving hunters with fewer places to go.
Hunters must field-dress their deer, before bringing it to the trailer, and should report the harvest through the state’s Telecheck system.

Hunters pay nothing to donate, while program funding and sponsors cover the cost of processing.